"Remember: there are no problems, only challenges!"

Considering all my experiences with Daedalic Entertainment so far, I tend to hold a middle ground in my judgements. The game is either perfect - like Memoria - or consists of a perfect idea ruined in rushed display - like Whispered World. On a 50-50 gamble, I took my chance and I'm happy to declare that The Night of the Rabbit went to snatch itself a place among the perfect ones.

Meet Jeremiah Hazelnut, a young boy who lives in a forest hut with his mother, and it's the last two days of his summer vacation. Young Jerry ventures out to the forest to find himself an adventure before dinner, and ends up meeting a strange rabbit named Marquis de Hoto who offers Jerry the great opportunity to become a wizard's apprentice! Marquis promises Jerry that he'll be home before dinner, and takes him to the village of Mousewood, where he'll be trained in the art of arts: magic! As Jerry proudly declares: Anything's possible on a day in summer vacation!

Before getting into gameplay, I'd like to take a moment to talk about the atmosphere of the game. The whole setting is already captivating with beautiful 2D art backgrounds, enchanting soundtrack and loveable characters as if they are taken out of a beloved children's book. Aside the trademark folklore themes of mainland Europe, numerous other mythologies are carefully wrapped up into a well-balanced setting of its own in this wondrous little tale. Character depth and storytelling are marvelous, voice acting is stunning and dialogue interactions vary between conjuring a warm smile on your face and inviting you to sudden striking realizations on human nature. Don't let the cute setting fool you; I took a pause to consider the wisdom behind an unexpected remark made in game more than once.

For the gameplay: it is a bit more than your casual point and click adventure. For the most part of the game, you are presented with a townful of people and places to explore, and also a handful of side stories and/or quests to accomplish aside the main scenario with card rewards. Item combinations are imaginative, yet not obscure at all. With some observation, it is possible to go through the whole game. Through his adventures, Jerry will learn some spells that will enrich the gameplay and present you new options of exploration; like talking to statues, growing plants in mere seconds, changing shape... and even make impossible, possible!

One of my favorite parts in the game is that you are encouraged to collect some mysterious cards in your explorations which you can use to play a card game named Quartets with the town's inhabitants. It is a lovely mini game that takes some attention and an exercise of memory. The game also contains some collectibles for you to look for - like stickers, dew drops and stories told by a mysterious woodspirit. They are not a must, but collecting them reveals some side lore to the game that you may enjoy very much. Every detail is carefully placed to make a whole masterfully. There is a variety of things to do in this game which offers at least 10 hours of gameplay roughly.

As a final word, when I chose to play The Night of the Rabbit, I wasn't expecting this kind of quality in setting, story, narration or gameplay. This is a wonderful and imaginative tale that I'll remember for a long time. Jerry's tale might have ended here, but I wonder if Mousewood or Marquis made their last appearances... I wish not.

Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page here - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!

[b]"Remember: there are no problems, only challenges!"[/b] Considering all my experiences with Daedalic Entertainment so far, I tend to hold a middle ground in my judgements. The game is either perfect - like [i]Memoria[/i] - or consists of a perfect idea ruined in rushed display - like [i]Whispered World[/i]. On a 50-50 gamble, I took my chance and I'm happy to declare that [i]The Night of the Rabbit[/i] went to snatch itself a place among the perfect ones. Meet Jeremiah Hazelnut, a young boy who lives in a forest hut with his mother, and it's the last two days of his summer vacation. Young Jerry ventures out to the forest to find himself an adventure before dinner, and ends up meeting a strange rabbit named Marquis de Hoto who offers Jerry the great opportunity to become a wizard's apprentice! Marquis promises Jerry that he'll be home before dinner, and takes him to the village of Mousewood, where he'll be trained in the art of arts: magic! As Jerry proudly declares: [u]Anything's possible on a day in summer vacation![/u] Before getting into gameplay, I'd like to take a moment to talk about the atmosphere of the game. The whole setting is already captivating with beautiful 2D art backgrounds, enchanting soundtrack and loveable characters as if they are taken out of a beloved children's book. Aside the trademark folklore themes of mainland Europe, numerous other mythologies are carefully wrapped up into a well-balanced setting of its own in this wondrous little tale. Character depth and storytelling are marvelous, voice acting is stunning and dialogue interactions vary between conjuring a warm smile on your face and inviting you to sudden striking realizations on human nature. Don't let the cute setting fool you; I took a pause to consider the wisdom behind an unexpected remark made in game more than once. For the gameplay: it is a bit more than your casual point and click adventure. For the most part of the game, you are presented with a townful of people and places to explore, and also a handful of side stories and/or quests to accomplish aside the main scenario with card rewards. Item combinations are imaginative, yet not obscure at all. With some observation, it is possible to go through the whole game. Through his adventures, Jerry will learn some spells that will enrich the gameplay and present you new options of exploration; like talking to statues, growing plants in mere seconds, changing shape... and even make impossible, possible! One of my favorite parts in the game is that you are encouraged to collect some mysterious cards in your explorations which you can use to play a card game named Quartets with the town's inhabitants. It is a lovely mini game that takes some attention and an exercise of memory. The game also contains some collectibles for you to look for - like stickers, dew drops and stories told by a mysterious woodspirit. They are not a must, but collecting them reveals some side lore to the game that you may enjoy very much. Every detail is carefully placed to make a whole masterfully. There is a variety of things to do in this game which offers at least 10 hours of gameplay roughly. As a final word, when I chose to play [i]The Night of the Rabbit[/i], I wasn't expecting this kind of quality in setting, story, narration or gameplay. This is a wonderful and imaginative tale that I'll remember for a long time. Jerry's tale might have ended here, but I wonder if Mousewood or Marquis made their last appearances... I wish not. Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page [url=http://steamproxy.com/groups/ladystoryteller#curation]here[/url] - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!